It’s also a bit pricey for how it looks to be honest. I’d expect atleast a @EinsteinEP like experience in the Concorde(minus the crashing, obviously).
@BeachAV8R, how do you like the Q400 so far? I’d been eying the ATR, but your screens are really great. How’s working with the default FMS?
I love the Q400 - but more for its simplicity than anything. It isn’t really deeply modeled. You can’t really change much on the MFDs and the FMC is the old X-Plane 9 type where you can’t really modify anything…you can only load flight plans from presaved flights and use the direct to function. The Q400 is more of a “Flaming Cliffs” depth of modeling than anything. So it isn’t really of the quality of the 757 Professional or A320 or anything…
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Thanks for the feedback. Probably looking for something a little more detailed. I’ve been having trouble getting the Captain Sim B777 to capture(?) approaches and end up flying them manually ← not necessarily a bad thing. But it makes great big turns and probably not the ideal instrument trainer 
Yeah…most of the commuter turboprops suffer from the same thing - they are fantastic, except for their lack of FMC. I think the ATR-72 is similarly hobbled…but it is really nice regardless.
The Take Command Saab 340 was really nice…but I haven’t kept up with how it has evolved over the late stage of X-Plane 10 and early stages of X-Plane 11…and it has a Garmin 530 integrated…(still not a true FMC)…
Yep, that was the one that I was looking at. What about an RJ?
There are a couple good RJs out there - you might even see one real soon on the front page of Mudspike…! 
I think the CRJ-200 was recently made X-Plane 11 compliant too…and X-Crafts is working on an E195 that will be XP11 compliant… (not the ERJ195 on this page though!) (they have a version 2 that will be coming out soon-ish)
Great. Look forward to reading that!
Man…I wish this scenery had come out before I had passed the region (the west coast of Colombia)…wonder where that Dornier is from too… (EDIT: Maybe THIS one…?)
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Wow..that’s awesome. I was going to visit Chagual, Peru because the (visual) approach looked so exciting..but the lack of any good custom scenery for it made me bypass it..
https://youtu.be/EersrIjC8cQ?t=2m32s
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Because of the limited X-Plane 10 scenery in Antarctica, we had to forgo visiting the following stations (all are default facilities):
- AT14 Mid Point Skiway
- AT28 Vostok Station Skiway
- AT03 Concordia Station
- AT23 Sitry Skiway
- AT05 D85 Skiway
- AT04 D10 Skiway
- YMQI Marquarie Island
- YWKS Wilins
- YCSK Casey Skiway
- YCAY Casey Station
- AT07 Davis Plateau Skiway
- AT21 Rumdoodle Skiway
- AT15 Molodezhnaya
- AT25 Showa Station Skiway
- AT20 Plateau Station Skiway
- AT17 Novolazarevskaya
- AT27 Troll Airfield
- AT12 Kohnen Station Skiway
- AT22 Sanae IV Skiway
- AT16 Neumayer Station Skiway
- AT11 EGAG Halley Station Skiway
We discovered NZ12 Palmer Station too late to incorporate it into our itinerary.
Antarctic Stop 13: SAWB Base Area Vicecomodoro Marambio
Resuming our trek from EGAR Rothera Research Station (webcam), we began our return to parts North by first travelling East across Graham Land and the Larsen Ice Shelf…
The thickening ceiling forced us down as low as 500 feet but then rose up just enough to shoot the approach into SAWB, which sits at 623…
A nice-sized base but the runway’s a bit rough looking…
I think that’s a runway…
Anunciando la llegada de …dulces!
Antarctic Stop 14: SA47 Petrel
The Argentine authorities may want to challenge the contractor that built SA47. It’s a bit on the narrow side …maybe it’s for very heavy RC aircraft.
We drop our package over the windsock and proceed.
Antarctic Stop 15: SAYE Base Esperanza
This was the most challenging landing to date. The skiway is very hard to see and lies on the crest of a hill that overlooks the base beyond it and down along the shoreline. It definitely requires at least one fly-by to assess the situation.
And here’s the moment of touchdown, and about the time I engaged full prop reverse to avoid going over the cliff that lies at the end of this 'way…
Antarctic Stop 16: AT19 O’Higgins Skiway
Just the sea and the clouds …and gigantic rock protrusions. Keeps your eyeballs up in this area.
O’Higgins is nearly as bad as SAYE was. See the windsock?
That’s where we slid to a slushy halt.
Antarctic Stop 17: XB01 Signy Research Station
Swinging wide around Coronation Island to make our approach for a water-landing at Signy.
Not knowing where to park our ride, we beach her in the frozen mud…
We disembark for an extended layover at this cute little outpost in the middle of somewhere…
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LOL…now I’ll know what to look out for in the NOTAMS and AFD…!
Fantastic trip report…
Right now it looks like there is an express train blowing from the Falklands to the Larsen Ice Shelf. Not sure what wind height that is…but sometimes it is worth it to go out of your way to catch the wind (I think oceanic tracks sometimes adjust based on that type of stuff…)…
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Thanks for the link - that is my ultimate destination I think…
Man…you sure are finding all the Nowheres!
500 MB chart (winds aloft - FL180-ish) showing about 80 knots of push in about 96 hours to help get from South America to Antarctica…
Hopefully the weather will be better in France…
It wasn’t. A combination of low cloud, being unfamiliar with the aircraft and the ILS approach, I was relieved to get on the ground.
The weather has to improve on the next leg Nantes (LFRS) → Faro (LPFR) and I’m hoping for a nice visual landing.
A quick departure, following the IFR instructions, we climb through the murk and out into the sunshine.
Checking the weather reports and it looks this will be the last of the cloud for a while. The relatively long flight (for me) gives me time to explore the aircraft systems, read up on the autopilot and how the nav works. Its during this reading up on the nav and experimenting with the autopilot I nearly come to grief.
The ATC had given the instruction to climb to FL 260. With my new found knowledge of the autopilot, I select a nice rate of climb carry on reading. At the same time, so my TIR doesn’t keep moving, I’ve dropped my headphones down round my neck, looking all the bit like the cool pilot I think I am.
This clever maneuver means I can’t hear the ATC asking me to expedite my climb, the aircraft telling me “Don’t sink” or the screams of the crew as they experience free fall.
What I’d managed to do when I dialed in the climb, was accidentally move my mouse and increase the rate of climb to something like 3000ft/m. This resulted in the aircraft pitched up with barely enough flying speed to stay above a stall, but dropping like a stone.
Fortunately I glanced up from my studies and wondered why I could only see sky and the altimeter whurring away backwards. Autopilot off, nose down and everthing is well again. I’d lost about 10,000ft, so gradually climb back up to the required flight level. I decide to stop reading, put on some calming music for the crew and give them a ration of rum, hoping they’ll forget all about it when we’ve landed.
Faro is an airport I’ve been to several times in RL on holiday, so the approach was what I expected. In over the sea and a nice easy landing, fortunately without any further dramas.
This is the longest flight I’ve done and the farthest I’ve flown. Still a long way to go, but I’m enjoying it and learning loads.
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Next up is Faro to Marrakech (GMMX), The weather looks good, if not a little windy in Africa. This will be a new record long flight for me. I’m really liking the aircraft and starting to get a lot more familiar with where things are.
Departure from Faro is mid morning, so the sun is nicely out.
Dialling in the heading on the autopilot, we head south and the miles begin to tick by. Eventually the North African coastline appears. There’s a weather front coming in from the east, but its clear where we’re heading.
We begin the decent into Marrakech, it looks hot out there over the desert.
I’m beginning to notice the haze closing in, although the weather chart looks clear.
By the time Marrakech approach gives permission to come straight in, the wind has increased and I think we’re landing in a sandstorm. I wasn’t expecting this so quickly check the approach charts, something I should have done before we left Faro.
I can see the VSI going up and down and the auto pilot is doing a great job of keeping the wings level. Its a strange dull light and very gloomy and contemplate diverting to a different airfield further south when I see the runway lights.
I’m a little high and probably a bit too fast, but I didn’t want to get too low over the town.
Touching down I feel relief and apply the brakes. After the dramas of the previous flight I’m happy to get this one in the bag without incident. The crew seem relieved, but that was to be short lived…
I have the speed brakes out and I’m applying the brakes, but I’m not stopping as quickly as expected. A quick glance down at the throttles I find out that putting my throttles on the Warthog in detent doesn’t apply the reverse thrust as I thought.
I also have a TIR moment which means I can’t focus long enough on the throttles in the virtual cockpit to get all of them into reverse thrust. There isn’t enough runway for an overshoot, so I’m committed to stopping and find I’m standing fully on the rudder pedals hoping she’ll stop before we go through the fence and into the traffic at the end of the runway.
Fortunately we do, but I’m off the end of the runway and have to apply reverse thrust to get us back on the concrete.
I sheepishly ask for permission to taxi to the gate and am relieved that ATC doesn’t make any comment about lengthening the runway for me.
Keets.
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LOL…this is a very real hazard in almost all planes that climb into the high flight levels. Vertical speed hold is a great tool…and I use it all the time, but you have to be careful you know what your airplane is capable of. Our Citation at work can struggle up to FL450, but the last 5,000’ has to (normally) be done at around 600 to 300 FPM at the end. Does the A400M have an airspeed or Mach hold button? I can’t remember. If so, it can also be a good tool to hold the climb profile.
Great report!
Agreed. Good read @keets. Keep them coming.